Review… How media chat unveiled the real Buhari

In from Olumide Olaoluwa . . .
For two hours Wednesday night, President Muhammadu Buhari held the nation spell-bound. It was at his maiden media chat. Coming seven months after his inauguration, Buhari got the opportunity to speak to the nation. Nigerians also had the chance to assess the man who they chose ahead of former President Goodluck Jonathan last March.

Buhari clearly spoke from his heart. Tried as he did to sound diplomatic on some issues he really felt strongly about, the panel of journalists succeeded on more than one occasion to draw the President out of his shell.

The economy has taken a serious hit in recent times, leaving many Nigerians broke and grounded like never before. Buhari waved off insinuations the naira should be further devalued. As far as he was concerned, it would subject Nigerians to further hardship.
By saying no to devaluation, Buhari is displaying his strong socialist leaning. At a time modern economies are determined by the vagaries of demand and supply, the President is insisting he has to be in total charge. He is clearly distrustful of capitalism, choosing instead to tighten the noose economically.

But his ignorance came to the fore when he stated he was unaware Nigerians could not use ATM cards abroad, as a result of a recent policy by his government. In another breath, he said he might have to ask the Central Bank Governor to look into complaints that Nigerians with legitimate overseas transactions are being hit by the ban on use of cards.

Clearly, the nation’s economy will still be in the wood with the rigid stance of the President against the power of free market. In a global competitive economy, pegging the official rate of the naira despite clear indices to the contrary is an economic misnomer for which the President is not apologetic.

Surely, government’s clear disobedience of recent court pronouncements tallies with the President’s mind. The true soldier in him came to the fore when he was asked why the federal government has not released the founder of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu and former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki despite meeting bail conditions.

Buhari lost his cool. Clearly irritated by the thought of granting bails to those on trial, the President declared them more or less condemned. This is another goof. The President is not the judiciary and every suspect is presumed innocent until pronounced guilty by courts of competence.

But Buhari will have none of this separation of power. He said: “If you see the type of atrocities those people committed against the country, they could jump bail.

“The former president just wrote to the governor of Central Bank and said give N40 billion – 40 billion to so so so, and you give him bail to go and see a doctor in London.

“When you have two million people in IDP camps, half of them don’t even know their parents. What kind of country do you want us to run?
“And the one you’re calling Kanu, do you know he has two passports. One Nigeria, one British and he came to this country without using any passport.

“Do you know that he brought equipment into this country, sophisticated equipment, and was broadcasting for Radio Biafra. What kind of government do you want to have? He has been charged with treasonable felony, and I hope the court will listen to the case.”

That amounts to being a judge in one’s case. It is a clear indication that the rule of law will take the back foot under his watch. But the President also showed his capacity to take tough decisions. Prodded about a likely ban on hijabs, which female suicide bombers have used to good effect lately, Buhari said it could happen if the bombings continue.

As a Muslim, he perfectly understands the strong attachment of women to hijabs. But he won’t mind stepping on religious toes to safeguard the nation. That is a big plus to his image considering his perception as an Islamic fundamentalist during the campaigns.

His response on the Shii’te clash with Military in Kaduna few weeks back was also commendable. This time, the President chose not to be judgmental. He said he would await submission of the inquiry into the clash by the Kaduna State Government before knowing what to do.

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But he also said to confront Military officers was unacceptable. For those seeking to clothe him with Islamic garb, Buhari handled his inquest admirably. What the sect members did, according to him, was bad and undesirable.

However, the president also revealed that he is yet to wean himself of the arrogance, and contempt his first constituency, the military has for civil rules, and democratic institutions when he said he could not send the police to probe a civil disturbance involving civilians and the military.

The abduction of over 300 teenage girls from Government Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State on April 14, 2014 attracted global outrage. It was inevitable the President will have to face the heat on the inability of his government to rescue them seven months since he came on board.

While his handlers will point out he was honest enough to admit he does not have accurate intelligence on the location and condition of the kidnapped girls, Buhari’s response also showed significant intelligence failure.

For a man who came to power on the strength of his ability to handle security better as a former Military ruler, Buhari’s admittance that the military, or other security agencies, do not have intelligence on the Chibok girls is a massive minus.

He appears not to care so much about the rescue of the girls, instead displaying helplessness. There was no sense of urgency or fire in his voice. His mien did not help confidence. By stating he was banking on the support of neighbouring countries, the President was more or less saying it is beyond Nigeria’s capacity to handle the terrorists.

The surge in terror attacks in the last few days should be a source of major concern to the President, who recently declared the insurgents have been technically defeated. Buhari was unrepentant with his remark, even saying the nation was doing well enough to flush out terrorism.

In the months leading to his election, the All Progressives Congress (APC) made so much fuss about the attacks. Strangely enough the nation is yet to witness the change the party promised on this score.

The President did inspire hope and confidence. Many loved how he boldly expressed his mind without fear or inhibitions. But there are still grey areas Nigerians have to be worried about. His economic blueprint is still unclear just as he remains rigid on many fronts. For Buhari, his first media appearance was a mixed bag.

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